The GOP Border Security Facade Revealed

You would think a bill with “border security” in the title would be a surefire win with conservative Members of Congress. But, it’s easy to give a bill a deceptive name that doesn’t truly reflect it’s full intentions.

As conservatives Members huddle in talks in the newly minted House Freedom Caucus, so too do establishment Republicans hell bent on keeping their agenda afloat. But transparency is the key to all things government so let’s talk about what this “border security” bill really is.

The border security provisions in the bill aren’t bad ideas, they’re just not good enough. More moderate Republicans like McCaul and his supporters aren’t committed to crafting hardcore immigration legislation that substantively combats Obama’s awful policies.

Sen. Jeff Sessions has been a vocal opponent of the bill and a voice for conservatives in the fight to do more, noting how little McCaul’s bill does to tackle Obama’s amnesty policies, which are the main issue at stake now. Sessions has said:

Surely, Congress must not allow the president a single dime to carry out an illegal order that Congress has rejected and which supplants the laws Congress has passed.

The opposition is gathering steam. A vote on the bill was pushed back from this week. GOP leadership claimed it was due to inclement weather but insiders believe they feared a lack of support. So, they are likely scrambling behind the scenes now, attempting to rally more Members to support the bill before moving forward.

The bill did pass last week in the House Homeland Security Committee, which McCaul chairs, but it’s anyone’s guess whether they can gain needed support in the House now. As one conservative member, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) said, it’s a “show horse, not a work horse.”

Are GOP leaders trying to fool the American people into thinking they’re actually doing something? Americans certainly expect that they will make bold moves on this issue, considering they just elected a GOP majority in both houses with these very reforms in mind.

The bottom line is this: The GOP needs to stop trying to prove their doing something — and actually DO it. This issue will affect our country for a long time to come and it’s worth heading back to the drawing board and presenting something with true, lasting value that will put us back on the right track.